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0}n0n 0f liibgment; 



AN 



Allegorical Satire 



WITH AN <^^ 



APPENDIX OF NOTES. 



BY (1. B. RODCxERS. 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 




CONNEAUT, OHIO 



1856. 



s 






Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1856, 

BY G. B. RODGERS. 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for 

the Northern District of Ohio. 



" MSDItll OFFICE PRIKT, CONNEArT, OHIO. 




TO THE READER. 

To PERSosrs, who are acquainted with this kind of composition, 
any attempt at explanation will doubtless appear superfluous: but 
when it is recollected, how few there are among writers, who have 
ever written satire; and how few among readers, who have ever 
bestowed a tliought on its requirements, these considerations will 
perhaps form an excuse for the few^ remarks I am now about to 
ofTer. 

In order that the following composition should be what its title 
<;alls for, I have thought it necessary that an apparent attempt showld 
be made at extreme sublimity, and the eflfort allowed to fail, so as to 
render the figure simply ridiculous or bombastic. At the same time, 
great seeming effort has been made at argument, which in almost 
every instance proves too much. This, with Iho appearance of 
candor, the earnestness, and simplicity of description which I have 
attempted to make a prominent feature, constitute what I conceive 
to be satire- A mere poetic censure of vice, would not fill the 
measure of my idea of satire, without the above qualifications, and 
these I have enc'eavored to introduce into the following composition. 
How well I have succeeded, the reader will judge. As regards the 
sentiments, a full explanation will be found in the appendix of notes, 
md it is unnecessary to trouble you with them here. 

THE AUTHOR. 

Cn^Gniy Falls, Jpne, 1856- 



1 



THE VISION. 



I. 



Far in the West, o'er Lake and wood, 

Beyond the Mississippi's flood, 

The sun had passed o'er scenes untold, 

To cheer that western land of gold ; 

Where, worshipping at Mammon's shrine. 

His thousand vot'ries toil and pine, 

Till yielding up the ghost, at last 

When all their toil and strife is past, 

The promis'd boon, mid sighs and tears, 

.Slips from their grasp, and mocks their feare. 



II. 



Phoebus, in her silver robes of light, 
Had gained the Allegheny's hight; 
And gazing far toward the West, 
She saw where Sol had sunk to rest, 
And saw the curtains of his bed 
<Kleaming with stripes of blue and red. 



6 A VISION 

III. 

But all on sudden, aa she gaz'd, 
She seemed to stand, as one amazed ; 
For, all within her view, there lay, 
The Genius of America; 
For, wearied with his sports and play, 
Among the sylvan herds, that day, 
And all, with careless vigor blest. 
The boy had lain him down to rest 

IV. 

Pillowing his head on stony range. 

His sylvan couch was wild and strange. 

For like the fairy kings, of old, 

His i)illovv-case was fringed with gokl- 

His ample robe, was o'er him cast. 

As if to shield him from the blast 

Of north wind, which at evening blew 

Or else, perhaps, the evening dew. 

And as she gazed ; upon his breast, 

Prairie flowers bedecked his vest. 

His lower limbs wers elad in pants 

Embroidered with industrial haunts. 

Phoebus, amazed, euchanted, smiled. 

Stooped, with her beams, and kissed the child. 

Then on her westward tour repairs 

Through azure fields bedecked with stars 

T. 

Scarce had bright Phoobus left the chikL 
When a grim spectre, huge and wild, 
Stole to the sleeper's couch, unseen, 
To conjure up the plague of dream. 
A cotton robe was o'er him flung — - 
Tobacco stalks, about him hung. 
And as he stood, in his right hand , 
A sugar-cane he held as wand- 



OF JUDGMENT. 

:At first, the spectre seemed inclined, 
The sleeper's youthful limbs to bind ; 
With chain of iron, foul with rust, 
And hold the sleeper in the dust: 
But all too weak ; the chain appeared, 
To bind the boy; the spectre feared. 
As even then, the chain was fast, 
'Round a bound form: and firmly clasped 
A son of that accursed Canaan, 
Denied by God the rights of man, 
A nd doomed, as Old-wives' fables say, 
To serve their brethren, night and day ; 
And least the son, by right of kin, 
Should 'scape the curse due grandsire's sin 
He marked him — with a darker skin. 

YIL 

The fiend then changed his purpose vile, 
And grinning forth a ghastly smile, 
lie shook his robe, and thus he spoke 
A spell; the vision to provoke: 
" Come, visions of hope; ■ 
Come visions of fear; 
Come fall on the heart; 
Come fall on the ear. 
Let the eye of the sleeper. 
The vision behold. 
In the ear of the sleeper. 
Let horrors be told ; 
Let him hear the loud trumpet, 
Peal forth the dread strain; 
Let thunders and lightnings 
Roll over the plain, — 
' Till his heart fail within him, 
And sickening with dread. 
He '11 submit to my service. 
■ And tamely be led ! '" 



A Vision 

VIII. 

The goblin ceased his chaunt, and then 
Waved o'er the boy his wand of cane ; 
He touched his eye and ear with art, 
He breathed upon the sleeper's heart, 
He placed tobacco on his tongue, 
Bbfore his eyes the cotton hung ; 
He bathed his lips with juice of cane, 
' Till all his senses reeled again. 
Then on the sleeper's senses came 
The horrid vision, all amain. 

IX, 

lie saw the sun (1) grow pale (2) with fear. 
Then black (3) as sack-cloth made of hair. 
The moon (4) within mid heaven stood— 
Turned to a putrid clot of blood ; 
tie heard the awful trumpet's (5) bray, 
At which the heavens (6) fled away; 
Earth (7) would hav'e followed, in their track. 
But awful terrors held her back: 
Ciuaking, with fear, from pole (8) to pole, 
'Midst lightning's (9) flash and thunder's (9) roll 
She stood — nor had she power to fly. 
While thickest darkness veiled tlie sky- 

X. 

Then, (1) midst the awful wreck of world?. 
Which through the realms of space he hurls. 
The Judge appeared, in dread array, 
And thus was set, the Judgment day. 
Next the x\rch Angel's (2) trump was heard 
Sum'ning the living (3) and the dead, 
TJie earthquake, (4) when with it compared. 
iSunk to a whisper scarcely heard; 
And when 'twas heard — the din above 
Seemed like some maid* n whispering love. 



A 



OF JUDG31ENT, 9 j 

1 
The loudest thunder sonnded mild, ] 

As breathing of a sleeping child. ',V^» 

Never before such voice was heard, '^ 

The graves were opened at his word, 
And, all aroused, the sleeping dead, (5) 
At Once the vast procession led. 
Hell poured her legions forth amain, 
In dark procession o'er the plain, 
Her mighty columns, dread array I 
Halt, and before the bar, display. 

XL 

Then said the Judge, "ye saints draw near, 

Let my strict justice banish fear: 

Ye loved ones, whom, to appease your God, 

On Calvary I shed my blood : 

Come then, and make complaint, to me, 

Who, from your sins, hath set you free. 

'T was then, the saints made this reply: 

"' Great Judge, in whose All-seeing eye, 

No sin against thy saints. Most Just, 

Will pass before Thee unredressed ; 

We know we most unworthy are. 

To make complaint before thy bar^ 

We lean upon thy grace alone, 

Upon Thy merit, not our own, 

And count upon Thy righteousness 

To grant thy loved ones full redress. 

Qh! grant thy loved ones then, relief 

'Gainst Abolitionist, and thief. 

Who, with foul malice, night and day, 

Caused our dear slaves to run away. 

Wilt thou Thy justice, Lord, maintain, 

And see that they 're returned again? 

Then shall they sing Thy praise once more 

Throughout the land, from shore to shoie ; ; 

Thus shalt Thou peace and joy maintain 

Throughout tlie land; O, Lord: Amen." 



A VISION 



XII. 



Then said the Judge: '"Ye angel band-*, 
Fly quickly over all the lands. 
Arrest the fugtiives, who fly, 
And bring the guilty sinners nigh. 
For when the heavens and earth were made. 
And their foundation fir:-t was laid, 
Slavery was then ordained to be 
The blessing of my saints. And He. 
Who made the Worlds and slaves and men- 
Ordained the Institution then. 
So that my saints might spend their time 
In prayer and praise and singing hymn. 
And thus their precious hours employ 
In serving Him with songs of joy; 
W^hich could not be, if they were made 
To handle shovel, hoe or spade. 
Thus He, all careful of my saints, 
Perceived at first their numerous wants, 
And made a low degraded race 
Of men, to fill the laborer's place : 
To furnish all the bread and wine 
Used in that supper: so divine 
That none but saints may dare to eat, 
And thus His love h made complete." 

XIII. 

Then did prepare the angel bands, 

To wing their way throughout the lands. 

And seize the ungrateful slave, who fled 

From tlieir kind master's board, or bed, 

And bring tliem back to serve the Lord, 

Witliout the promise of reward. 

Thus showing, as the doctrine says, 

That with free gifts the Lord's most pleased : 

For, where no interest can bind, 

We look for freedom of the rain.d 



OP JUDGMENT^ il 

:\ow when the New Jerusalem, ; 

Down from the third heaven has come, 

Theee slaves, who stand without the gate. 

And on their holy masters wait, 

Will hear the heavenly arches ring, 

With anthems, which their masters sing; 

They, too, the chorus may prolong. 

By shouting forththe old corn song. 

And be as happy, kept outside, 

As those who in the town reside; 

And please the Lord about as well, 

As if they M all been sent to hell. 

XIY. 

The Angels now return with song, 
Dragging the fugitives along. 
'Sound with a heavy iron chain, 
That they in bondage may remain. 
At sight of them the saints rejoice. 
And unto God lift up their voice 
In hymns, His mercy to proclaim 
'Till heaven's arches 'ring again. 
And then his justice they implored; 
Against the Abolition horde; 
-And then the awful story tell, 
About those fanatics from hell, 
Who dare insult God's throne and pray 
For Universal Liberty ! 
And e'en refuse, for to maintain 
The laws, His justice did ordain. 

XY. 

Then said the Judge: "My saints shall know, 

My justice an<? jay mercy too ; 

Remember now, my pledge of old. 

That you, my saints, should judge the world. 

•And now thatpledge redeemed shall be. 



12 A VlSIO^f 

By giving of them up to thee. 
That you by lynch-lavv may provide. 
To have the daring sinners tried." 
Then with loud shouts the heavens rung. 
High in the air their caps they flung ; 
And old Monongahela's power 
Displayed itself for half an hour; 
In honor of the Judge they drank, 
Nor from the grateful beverage shrank 

XYI. 

Now with loud cheers, and jest and gibe,. 
They seize the Abolition tribe, 
And stripping of them to the skin, 
The lynching process they begin. 
First, on the skin they spread the tar, 
And next, the feathers they prepare, 
While some the holy rail provide 
On which the culprit is to ride ; 
Each end the saintly shoulders bear, 
As through the city they repair ; 
The seraphs lead the Godly throng, 
With good old Yankee-doodle song. 
With skill they tune the golden lyre, 
The saintly columns to inspire, 
With proper dignity and sense, 
The lynch-law justice to dispense. 

XYII. 

Before the holy rail, there went 
A great pro-slavery president : 
Dancing with all his might and main. 
Devoid of every sense of shame; 
Careless of modesty's remark, 
As David danced before the ark. 
Thus up the golden streets they go. 
As he essayed to jump Jim Crow^ 



OF JUJJGJIEINT. If) 



While from his brow the sweat he wipes, 
With Uncle Sam's old stars and stripes, 
And they, his courage to inspire. 
Sing " Ole Virginny never tire!" 

XYIIL 

Thus through the city of their God, 
The saints with reeling footsteps trod; 
Shouting loud songs of hallelujah, 
To the sacred tune of " Old Dan Tucker.'' 
'Mid Angel bands who at them stare, 
At length they reach the pubUc square, 
Where, with its buds of blossoms glowing, 
The blessed tree of life was growing. 
Here, with their strength about to fail, 
The saints threw down the holy rail, 
And from the Abolition thief. 
They felt rejoiced to get relief. 

XIX. 

So now, beneath the ambrosial shade, 
Of this blessed tree, their load was laid ; 
And panting with such arduous toil, 
They sat them down to rest awhile, 
And hold a consultation too, 
To see what further they should do 
With this old Abolition scoundrel, 
For now to let him go, it wan't well. 
So some said this thing, some said that, 
Or clamored forth they knew not what; 
Last all agreed with one accord, 
To hang him up before the Lord; 
Reeking with Abolition rife, 
Suspended on the tree of Life, 
And leave him ever dangling there, 
To ornament the public square. 



S4 A VisrOi^ 

XX. 

Thi? «juare Avas lieauteous to behold, 

Its walks were paved with burnbhed gold. 

And rising I'roiii it high in air. 

The holy temple d'oth appear, 

111 which the saints do congr-egate, 

To talk o'er matters of tlie state. 

In its foundaliou there was made. 

Tiie place whence saints draw spirituous aid- 

For without hope of spirituous fare. 

No saint, 'tis feared would ever go there, 

'Unless by some misfortune driven, 

V/hen 'twould be anj'thing but heaven. 

And all the blessed saints on high, 

Would tliink the place was awful dry. 

XXL 

Within the sacred temple's view, 
In front of Quaker Avenue, 
Three glorious negro pens were placed, 
And thus the public square was graced. 
Beneath the shade of that old tree. 
Whose vulgar name is liberty; 
W^hich planted here in days of old; 
By ignorance — as I 've been told. 
Who thought, in his simplicity, 
That 'twas an ornamental tree, 
And could be made by cultivation, 
The joy and pride ot all the Nation. 
But when the summer came, 'twas found, 
That 't wouldn't flourish in such ground : 
Besides, it did contain the germ, 
Of a disgusting pois'nous worm : 
An insect of the class erratic. 
Known by its generic term, fanatic. 
And so, the genteel and polite, 
Could n^t endure it in their sight 



OF JUDGMEINT. 



m 



Which so annoyed the folks in town. 
That they wouUi fain have cut it down ; 
But tlien these insects-^they so fear 'em 
That not a soul there dare go near "etn. 
And so the tree escaped the axe. 
With only some judicial hacks, — 
And now 'twill die, as they expect, 
From want of care and mere neglect. 

XXII. 

Beneiith its shade, as I have said, 

An auctioneer's block is laid, 

Where the mulatto girls are sold, 

Unto the saints, as we are told. 

So any saint, if nature tease him. 

Can go and buy one, if she please him : 

And if she does not, he can sell her. 

^Vith her white baby, to his fellow. 

And every time the aucti^iaeer- 

Cries — "Going! going! v.'ho biJ.5 higher : 

The holy elders round the throne. 

Pull off their crowns and cast thorn down. 

And sing the anthem of hosanna. 

To the glorious tune of " Oh! Susannah ; 

And the saints respond in holy yells. 

»^ Got along home, my yellow gals ' " 

• XXIII. 

On three sides of this splendid Squfii'e, 

The arch Angels' palaces appear; 

And all along its golden streets, 

Rich gambling stalls the stroller greets. 

Where saints can play with great delight 

From evening's gray till morning's ligii' . 

Or, stepping in saloons Divine, 

Can take a glass of native wine. 

Or, if they choose to feel more g.iiil};V. 



IG A TISION 

Tiikc $wigs of old Monongahela ! 

And 'though tlie saints think this the dandr, 

'Tis said tlse Arch-Angels choose good brandy 

XXIY. 

I'hus f;tr the enclianttnent had prevailed, 
Td jiaralyze the sleeping child 4 
But now, the eastern sky grew gray, 
With promise of the coming day, 
And t'.ie young sleeper's restless limb., 
(Jave warning to the spectre grim, 
That soon, his hellish spell would break, 
And the charmed sleeper would awake; 
When he, his Devilish ends to gain, 
Might try his hellish arts in vain. 
For well he knew, the sleeper's ire, 
If once aroused; in vengeance dire 
Would fall, upon him, with such power, 
As to destroy hnn in an hour. 

XXV. 

For once before, the fiend had had, 
Jlis infant hand upon him laid, 
For venturing, with his tricks one day. 
To near the cradle where he lay, 
lie seized him with wild joy thereat. 
As infants seize an unlucky cat, 
And holding him within his grasp, 
Brought him almost to his last gasp. 
Had not his cries of fear and pain, 
Aroused the nurse's pity, then 
His DevMish tricks had all been o'er, 
And he had cursed the world, no more. 

XXYI. 

Escaping from his danger thence. 
To the unluckv shores of France; 



OF JUDGMENT. 17 



He sought his native land to gain, 

For he, 'tis said, was born in Spain 

A son of that accursed old harlot, 

Who rides the nations dressed in scarlet. 

And then, with bitter rage, he swore 

He 'd plague the boy forever more. 

And from that time, with all his art, 

He 's played a dev'lish cunning part, 

And sought by every foul device, 

The unthinking boy, to entice, 

Into some well adjusted snare, 

Where he could hold him without fear; 

But all his artful tricks would fail, 

Nor could he 'gainst the lad prevail. 

He dare not openly attack him. 

With all the fiends of hell to back him; 

For well he knew, if when an infant, 

He had the power of some huge giant, 

That now, when he'd to boyhood grown, 

To trial of his vigor prone, 

No strength of his would e'er prevail, 

To make the youthful stripling quail, 

XXYII. 

'T was only then, by treach'rous art, 

That he could play the captors part. 

Having in vain, tried all his skill, 

To bring him to enact his will. 

He thought he to his couch could creep. 

And bind his victim while asleep. 

But here his labor too, was lost, 

He reckoned now, without his host. 

No sooner, did the boy feel, 

The iron letter touch his heel, 

Than roused at once to consciousness. 

He seized the chain within his grasp, 

And rent its iron links asundes, 



18 A VISION 

Quick as the lightning's flash, or thunder; 
'Rends rotten wood, and turns to dust, 
All upon which its fury bursts ; 
And rising from his dream amazed, 
He fiercely at the spectre gazed. 

XXYIII. 

"Though warned by signs, as it appeared. 
The spectre was not quite prepared, 
For such a sudden change, it seems, 
Which wholly thwarted all his schemes. 
And filled him with such horrid fright, 
As scarcely left him power for flight. 
But sense of danger lent some strength, 
Unto his trembling limbs vt length, 
Turning, some safe retreat to gain. 
He fled like lightning o'er the plain; 
But all too late, his hour had comC; 
*No power could now avert his doom. 

XXIX. 

The boy seized the bended bow. 
And to its head, the arrow drew. 
Then from the string the quarrel sped. 
And pierced the goblin as he fled; 
Who uttered forth one fearful yell, 
As to the earth he prostrate fell. 
The mountains trembled at the sound, 
As from their clefts the echoes bound : 
The beasts were startled in their lair. 
And issuing forth, the Northern bear 
Uttered a harsh and angry growl. 
As when the wolves too near him howl. 
The lion heard his voice, and then 
Roared in reply, and shook his mane ; 
^ The eagle from his mountain eyry, 
c^tepped out upon the crag so airy, 



OF JUDGMENT. 19 



Spreading his wings in triumph, there 

Sailed forth upon the morning air. 

And circled 'round above the plain, 

As if the cause to ascertain 

Of such an awful cry forlorn 

As had disturbed that quiet morn. 

XXX. 

He saw the lad all careless stand, 
His bow, still lingering in his hand, 
His eye, was on his victim cast, 
As struggling in death's awful grasp. 
He seemed his power to defy. 
As if he could refuse to die. 
But less his limbs his will obey 
As his life's current ebbed away ; 
His blear and goblin eyes grew dim-^ 
The tremorous stretching of his limb — 
Less and less frequent, gasp for breath, 
As closer drew the bonds of death; 
At length, all motionless, he lay, 
Not e'en for vultures, a fit prey. 

XXXI. 

Although the boy seemed unconcerned. 

No traces of the ire which burned 

In his young breast, against the fiend, 

Was noticeable in his mien; 

Another object met the view, 

And such a ditlerence marked the two. 

That when the object met the eye, 

Itcall'd forth all one's sympathy, 

And banishing all trace of hate. 

Made one forget the spectre's fate. 

This was a poor degraded one. 

The chained and fettered African ; 

JFrom whom, the boy, by one brave stroke.. 



20 A VISION 

Had the foul goblin's fetters broke ; 
And now beside the lad he stood, 
To all the rights of man restored. 

XXXII. 

He seem'd, while tears streamed from his eye, 

O'ercome with gratitude and joy. 

And though he strove to speak his thanks, 

His tongue refused him utterance; 

'Till falling on his knees at last. 

His tearful eye toward heaven cast, 

His soul burst forth, in praise of him. 

Who bursts the feeble bondman's chain; 

Plucks from beneath the tyrant's heel. 

Him who hath almost ceased to feel 

Its weight; so long has he been crushed. 

By foul oppression, in the dust. 

Who can the feeble victim raise, 

From lowest depths, to sing His praise. 

"Oh, God! of truth and love," he cries, 

Oh, God ! who rules above the skies, 

All praise and glory be to Thee! 

Oh, God! thou God of Liberty!'' 



END OF THE SATIEE. 



APPENDIX. 

NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS,- 



1st, 2nd and 3d Stanzas. 
These are merely introductory, in wliich the Gemus of America, 
is introduced as a sleeping boy, in allusion to the cemparatively 
recent existence of the American Union as a Nation. 

Stanza 4th. Pillowing his head on stony range. 
The figure in this stanza, is a description of the physical geography 
of the country, from its wild Prairies in the West, and its Manufac- 
turing and Agricultural districts in the East. The gold fringe is au 
allusion to the gold regions of California and Oregon. 

Stanza 5th. When a grim spectre, huge and xcild. 
This is intended to represent the Genius of African Slavery,-— 
whose chief supports are, cotton, tobacco, and sugar. 

Stanza 6th. To bind the boy. 

This is an allusion to the early exertions of the pro-slavists to fasten 
the institution upon the Government, in opposition to the ideas of 
republican liberty, then existing. The unchristian and unphilosoph- 
cil doctrines, promulgated by pro-slavery clergymen, are justly char- 
acterized by the term "old wives' fables." Those who are inclined 
to regard this as a sneer at religion, will please reflect that the chief 
corner stone of slavery is this recently exploded doctrine of the unity 
of the origin of the races. The idea that a drunken parent had the 
power to curse his ninocent posterity, throughout all coming genera- 
tions, and render the curse effectual, however unjust, has served to 



22 A VISION 

liiiet the minds and consciences, of many a sincere believer in tlic 
doctrines of Christianity, in regard to slavery, whose simple mind.'^ 
were too much enslaved, by reverence to the clergy, or too uncult 
vated to perceive the utter absurdity of such a doctrine. So long a^ 
we feel that we are not at libjerty to expose the ridiculous and absurd ■ 
dogmas of tlie clergy, lest bv so doing, we should injure the cause of 
Christ, so long shall we have a corrupt church, and a hypocritical 
Priesthood, truckling to every miquity, which can disgrace the nam 
of Christ, or degrade the morals of man. 

Stanza 7th. The fiend then cafoi'^ed his purpose vile. 

An allusion to the change which took place about the time of the | 

ndministralion of Jefferson, in regard to slavery, and which resulted j 

in the purchase of Louisiana and Florida. j 

Stanza 8di. The gohlin ceased his chaunv. 
This is an allusion to the arguments of the pro-slavists, in regard to ■ 
the immense benefit, as they assert, of the products of slavery, to 
.M.mmerce and the nation. This argument, if the facts were truths, 
nu'-ht have some force, if, instead of the few merchants, and the three 
liundred thousand slave owners of the South, the whole twenty-five 
millions of these people partook of these benefits. But the case is 
decidedly the reverse. To the laboring classes, slavery is a positive 
injury. In the .slaveholding States, this class has become more 
de-raded than thc^ slaws. Ignorant and drunken, they only serve to 
«sJist the slave-owners in keeping down slave insurrection; or in 
.obtaining office by their votes, and in getting up riots for lynching pur- 
looses A few drinks.of intoxicating liquor, are sufficient to purchase 
them soul and body; and the highest estimate which they are capable 
of placing on the character of a rich man is, that he wi]l treat, and of 
a poor man, that he is a bully. They are despised by the slave- 
owi-er'^them.-elves. and the sneering manner in which they speak of 
a whortleberry-pond South Carolinian, or a wire-grass Georgian is a 
sufficient proof of the estimate they are held in. In the non-slavc- 
hofdin- States, a class of population, so degraded is not to be found, 
a, a class and the scattered specimens, are looked upon as real pests, 
'.^4 are onlv found in the large cities, where they are occasionally 



X)P JUDGMENT. 25 

Sinfd for the vilest political purposes. There is this differencp 
existing between the loafer and the whortleberry-pond South Caro- 
linian and wire-grass Georgian : That the loafer of the North, is tlu; 
<lishonest, thievish, besotted victim of the grogshop; while the whor- 
leberry-poud SoiUh Carolinian, or wire-grass Georgian, is the poor 
honest, degraded, ignorant victim of the institution of slavery. — 
These animals are fotmd in all the pine woods districts of Florida, 
Alabama, and Mississippi, and are there called cow-drivers. But it if 
false that slavery is a benefit to ccmmerce. As a proof of this, c()ii»- 
pare New Orleans, Mobile, and Pensacola, with Philadelphia, New 
York and Boston. New Orleans, is, by nature, the pl^oe of deposit, 
for the produce of four-fifths of the Union, and contains perhaps one 
hundred thousand inhabitants, while New York, would naturally 
receive about one-thirtieth part of the produce, and contains seven 
hundred thousand inliabitants. It is true that the situation of New 
Orleans is more unhealthy than New York, but not enough so to 
account for the difference in population. Between Mobile and Phila- 
delphia, nature has made no diiference, except in giving to Mobile a 
surrounding country far superior in agricultural and commercial 
products, to Pennsylvania. And yet, Mobile, compared with Phila- 
delphia, is, in point of population, only a large village. Pensacola is 
possessed of the best harbor south of New York, safe and commo- 
dious, with a country healthy, and possessing incalculable wealth in 
commercial products. Her lumber alone, which is now rotting in 
the forest, is more valuable than the gold mines of California. Her 
soil and climate is, in every way adapted to the culture of the grape ; 
and if turned to any accomit, would yield a larger revenue than the 
whole products of Massachusetts ; with a location as healthy as any 
city in the Union, and with all these natural advantages, Pensacola 
has a population of from six to ten thousand inhabitants; while 
Boston, poor in the soil of her surrounding country, poor in com- 
mercial products, and with a harbor no way comparable, is in point 
of population and commerce, the second city in the Union. Should 
slavery be abolished, with its code of laws, which have cursed, and 
now curse, the States of Alabama and Florida, Pensacola would 
become the second city in the Union, both in wealth and population, 
in less than fifty years. 



24 A VISION 

Stanzas 9, 10, and 11. 

This is only an allegorical presentation of the " blood and thunder" 
arguments and threats of dissolution of the Union, used by the pro- 
f^lavists. Presented also in the chaunt 7th. The prayer contained in 
ptanza eleventh, is only a copy of the prayers, rendered in rhyme, of 
all pro-slavery christians, if there are any such christians. 

Stanza 12. TJien said the Judge, " Ye angel bands.^^ 

This refers to the employment of the forces of the General Govern- 
ment, in catching runawa)' negroes. There can be nothing incon- 
sistent in supposing that God will employ his angels in maintaining 
an institution of his own ordaining. The argument is a brief 
rehearsal of the argumeaits of the j5ro-slavery clergy. 

Stanza 13. Noic when the New Jerusalem. 

As it would b3 a preposterous idea, to suppose that persons who. 
in this world, are unfit companions, will be compelled to associate in 
heaven, against all their feelings of propriety, I cannot reasonably 
suppose that the slave will be allowed, thus unbidden, to intrude 
himself into the presence of his master. And as the slaves have done 
nothing which ought to send them to hell, the only thing which I can 
imagine, will be done with them, is to allow them to amuse themselvefl 
as well as they are able, outside of the gate, as they are permitted to 
do here outside of the meeting house. 

The idea hinted at in the last two lines of the stanza, that God could 
damn persons, simply for his own pleasure, cannot be better illus- 
trated than by reciting the following anecdote, which took place not 
many years since at a protracted meeting. The clergyman, a young 
and enthusiastic revivalist, asked a young lady convert the following 
question: " II God should be pleased to damn your soul, do you feel 
as though you could be satisfied, and glorify him for it?" " I do not 
know," replied the young lady, "how I should feel under such cir- 
cumstances; but I hope he will not be pleased to do it.'' This con- 
dition of mind has more to do with politics, than appears at first view. 
And although, in despotic governments it is necessary that the subject 
should be brought to this abject state of feehng, in order to secure 



OF JUDGMENT. 25 

the stability of the throne, nothing can be more dangerous in a 
Republic. With such a feeling of mind, people are ready to submit 
to any law, however unconstitutional, which their legislatures mr>y 
see fit to paj«s, or bow in humble deference, to the decisions of courts, 
iiowever repugnant to justice, reason or common sense. Could I 
suppose that God would damn any soul, merely for his own pleasure, 
it would destroy every particle of reverence I have for the Divine 
Character ; and should He, as a consequence, let loose the thunders 
of his Infinite vengeance upon my devoted head. I could but despise 
him the more for it. And I could but feel that he had. by the act, 
released me from all obligations to love or serve him. 

Stanza 14th. 

JV/w dare pmdt God's throw., and pray 
.For Universal LiherUj. 
There can be but two sides to this question. If slavery is an insti- 
tution ordained by God; universal liberty is an unholy condition, and 
prayers offered for such a state of things, are clearly insults to the 
throne of grace. And those who are so fortunate as to arrive in 
heaven, may look down into the abyss of hell, and there behold the 
fathers of our own revolutionary struggle, writhing in endless damna- 
tion ! with every patriot, every democrat, and every republican, who 
has e ver lifted a hand against a tyrant on tlie throne, or uttered a prayer 
in harmony with his faith, broiling around them, and increasing the heat 
of their torment! For the same rule of Divine right, which invests the 
slave-owner withpower to dispose of the persons of his slaves, without 
consulting their will, gives to every tyrant the right to dispose of tlieir 
subjects, without their consent. What hope, then, can be entertained, 
for those who have dared to lift their hands against the will of a God, 
who has made this a world for tyrants, and has peopled it with slaves ? 
For the argument in favor of slavery, the reader is referred to the 
resolutions of the Church of Christ, in Fauquier County, Virginia, 
excouununicating Anthony Burns; and the letter of the Rev. John 
C ark to Burns on that occasion. 

Stanza 15. 

The perfect indifference with which the government regards these 
lynching affairs, amounting to absolute encouragement, is referred to, 



26. A VISION 

in the first part of tliis stanza, in the speech of the judge In the 
conoludiug lines, reference is had to the known drunkenness which 
usually prevails on such occasions, and in which members of the 
church, and even their preachers, not unfrequently participate ; and 
in this condition, offer up prayers for the good of the souls of th e 
individuals they are about lo murder. 

Stanza 16. 
Now with latcd cheers, and jest and gibe, 

In this stanza reference is had to the total want of feeling exhibited 
by the crowd on these occasions. If any arguments were wanting 
to show that the moral principle upon which slavery is based, is pre" 
cisely the same, as that which constitutes piracy, a careful examination 
of the conduct and language in these lynching scenes, would furnisli 
such argument past all doubt. 

In the passage ''the seraphs lead the Godly throng," an allusion i^ 
made to the encouragement given by females, to these disgusting pro • 
ceedings, furnishing feathers, and dealing out whisky to these savages! 
and uttering commendatory speeches, of them and their acts, both 
before and after the outrage ; although I believe they do not usually 
honor the executions with their presence. As proof of the above 
assertion, the reader is referred to the famous letter of the New Eng- 
land school-mistress, written from Missouri, in defence of the charac- 
ter and conduct of the Border ruffians. But it has been said of Capt. 
Hall, that in reply to some questions put to him, in regard to offen. 
sive matter contained in his book of travels in America, he said by 
way of excuse, that he had written for a frigate ; may not this youri; 
lady have written for a husband? If so, she ought to be excused. 

Stanza 17. 
Before the holy rail there went. 

This needs but little comment. The shameless manner in whic 
the Executive has espoused the cause of the evil-doers in Kansas, ha. 
made even his firmest supporters stare with wonder, at his audacit)- 
He, with some of his advisers, seem bent on wiiuiing as high a nich 
in the temple of infamy, as Robespierre and Danton. They apro- 



OF JUDGMENT. 27 

to be ingeiisible to to every argument, save one, and it is to be de- 
voutly hoped that that argument will be presented in the coming 
election, with such force, as not only to convince them, but to warn 
the executive suckers not to follow in the footsteps of their illustrious 
{)redecessor. The Stars and Stripes, alludes to the attempt to force 
A'ativism into the support of slavery. 

Stanza 18. 
Thus, through the city of tJicir God. 

The doctrine of the pro-slavists is, that whatever is not prohibited 
by the laws of Congress, or the States, is proper to be done, and that 
whate\'«r these laws make right, is right. Thus recognizing no ruler 
above the government of the United States, or the State in which 
they live. The exposition of this doctrine by Henry Clay, is too clear 
to be misapprehended by any one. "More" says he, "than two 
hundred years of legislation, have sanctioned and sanctified it." (Af- 
rican Slavery.) This with the sneering opposition, of all pro-slavery 
men, to the higher law doctrines, points with certainty, to the God of 
their worship. Now the highest ruling power, which a man recog- 
nizes, is his God, and as, in this case, it is the legislation, the city of 
their God, can be no other than the seat of Government. 

Stanza 19. 
iSo now beneath the ambrosial shade. 

The tree of life, according to St. John, is the only tree growing in 
these regions, and as the lynchers use no other gallows than a tree, I 
have ventured, to suppose, that they would hang their victim on that, 
rather than lose the rare fun of hanging him. 

Stanza 20. 

" TJds square was heauteous to behold. 

The term saint, has been used so often in our satire, that it may be 

well to explain what is meant by it. By saint, we understand one who 

serves God, or in other words, " one who is eminent for piety." Now 

as God is the highest ruling power which is acknowledged by any 



28 A VISION 

people, those are saints who are most devoted to that power, whatev- 
er that power may be, as explained in stanza 18, this is the slave pow- 
er. The place whence saints draw spirituous aid, is an allusion to the 
practice of keeping drinking saloons in the basement of the capitols, 
and has no allusion whatever to the river which sprang from under 
the door of the temple, in the vision of Ezekiel. If I am not mistaken, 
those waters were of a different quality. 

Stanza 31. 

" fVitfun tfds sacred tempWs vicw^ 
If over such a place as the city of New Jerusalem should exist, it 
will, undoubtedly, be embellished witli the choicest ornaments, which 
can please the eye of its inhabitants; and call to mind, recollections 
of their religious faith and piety, while they were sojourners in the 
land of mortality; and more especially when we consider, that such 
faith and piety, is to be the key which opens the gate to their admis- 
sion. Now as slave pens appear to be objects of intense gratification 
to the slave owners, and the clergy and members of proslavery churcii- 
es, as calling to mind the manner in which they served God, and did 
honor to the name and character of the Lord Jesus Christ, while so- 
journing in the land of temptation and trial; it is diflicult to imagine 
how they can be omitted in heaven without leaving a real void in 
the means of their happiness. 

Although St. John dues not mention any other tree than the tree of 
life as growing in the city, which he describes; it is an universal opin- 
ion that the tree of liberty flourished there also. If this opinion is cor- 
rect, St. John did not have reference to the same city, as it does not 
flourish at all, in the place we have been describing. 

"Excepting some Judicial hacks." 
It is a fact well known to all observers that the liberties of the coun- 
try have received more direct injury from the unprincipled decisions of 
courts, than from all other causes put together. The reason of this is, 
that the people are in the habit of regarding the courts as learned, hon- 
est and upright; and consequently they respect their opinions and sub- 
mit to them widiout further inquiry ; while as regards their legislators, 
they know them to be composed of persons selected from among them- 



OF JUDGMENT. 29 

selves, and thereforo tint they may be luUtakenor influenced by par- 
ty considerations ; and consequently, they scrutinize the laws and pass 
their opinions in regard to thcni without any r gard to the characters 
of the persons who passed them. As proof of the above statement, 
we need only refer to the opinions of courts, on the coiistifutionality 
of the Fugitive Slave Law, by which the sovereignty of the States is 
abolished, and a compact, solely between states, is seized upon, 
and executed by the general government; to the case of Passmore 
\Villiamson, in which the writ of habeus corpus was prostituted and 
used to abridge the privileges and liberty of a citizen, and to the late 
decisions in regartl to the bringing of slaves by their m asters, within 
the jurisdiction of a free State, reversing all the rules of law, and 
decisions of courts, stnce the establishment of our government, and 
all the opinions of Jurists in any other part of the world- 

Stanza 22. 

This stanza necls no comment, as it only alludes to the shameless 
practices of the slaveholder, in selling his own children. The ' ' holy 
elders," refers to the caliinct. 

Stanza 23. 
The term arch-angel refers merely to the leading demagogues and 
employees about the capitol. 

Stanza 24. 

The above stanzas conclude the pictures of slavery, so far as its 
moral effects are concerned. If its picture is horribly blasphemous, 
the pro-slavery clergy are answerable for it. It is a poor religion 
whose faith and practice caimot be incorporated, wiih the ideas of 
heaven, drawn from lioly writ, or Divine inspiration. 

" But now t/ix eastern sky greic gray.'' 
This IS an allusion to the anti-slavery movement in tlje Eastern 
States. The leaders of the pro-slavery party appear to be well aware 
of the real weakness of their cause, and therefore the exertions made 
by them to avoid agitation. It has only been by amusing the people 
with parly names, of whig and democrat, and raising side question-^. 



'>^f A VISION 

if) which the people had no real interest, that they have so long been 
■ulile to accomplish their ends, and prevent a division on the m lin 
• pui^tion. Wliit interest had the people in the great question of the 
United States Bank, on which the parties of loco foco and whig were 
raised, and which divided the country for nearly twenty years? — 
None at all; unless the great money lenders of our Northern cities, 
nre to be considered, exclusively, as the people. And to them the 
decision was a matter of perfect indilTerence. It was not the decision 
but the contest in which they were interested; So long as this contest 
could be kept np, so long, the agitation of the slave question could be 
kH])tdown, and their mortgages on human flesh would be safe. Dema- 
gogues have taken advantage of this state of tilings, in order to obtain 
otHcp, and they were as much interested to prevent a decision, and 
more so. than anybody else, for a fiial decision in favor of either 
])arty. would have destroyed both, and have left them without a ques- 
tion on which to ride into office, for no one supposes that they pos- 
sessed any personal merit to recommend them. II the people enter- 
tained any such idea before the last Presidentiil election, they are 
satisfied of their error now. But the constaivt agitation of these ques- 
tions, has, at length, brought a decision, and loft the parties in the 
condition of the Kilkenny cats: there is nothing left of them, but their 
tails, and even in them there will not be life enough left in a few 
years, to enable them to wiggle. Notwithstandipg the great effort 
made to prop up slavery, by the queslion of nativism, the prop has 
broken, and but added impetus to its fall. The question of slavery 
is now before the people, and it is in vain to attempt to avoid its 
■discussion, in every phase in which it can be presented. 

*' For once before the fiend had had 

His infant hand upon him laid.'^ 
Tills is in allusion to the period of our revolution, the declaration 
')f Independence, and the adoption of the federal constitution. The 
strong ."Sentiment in favor of liberty, which at that time prevailed 
among the people, ca!n3 near exterminating slavery; but the strong 
pleas and threats of the Southern slave-owners, and the great desire 
of the convention to secure union, induced it, while entering its pro- 
tost against the inbtitution, to insert some clauses in the constitution, 
which saved it from its impending danger, and enabled it to curse the 



\ 



OF JLDGMEAT. 31 

Nation, with a plague, compared to which, all the plague« of I-gypt 
are but temporary calamities. 

Stanza 26. 

" Escaping from his danger tliencc.''^ 
This is a mere hint at the origin of African slavery, introduced into 
America by a Roman Catholic priest, with the consent and ap[»roba- 
of the Pope. Spain became, so far as temporal power was concerned 
its cradle. It may, therefore, be said to be the child of the Catholir: 
Church, while the Protestant Church has been its chief nurse. Had 
the Catholic laws prevailed, slavery would have become extinct, in 
consequence of the abolition of the slave trade, as these laws forbid 
the holding of a christian in bondage, and every slave by professing 
the Catholic faith became free. 

Stanza 27. 

" Twas only then by treacherous art. 
The arts of the pro-slavists, in getting up side questions, Ijy whu-.h 
to draw off the public mind, from the contempialion of slavery, has 
been before alluded to Counting upon the apathy of the people 
generally, in regard to the slave question, and supposing that tht^ 
opposition to slavery, grew only out of a morbid pity in the minds O: 
a few, for the condition of the African, while the masses were totally 
unconscious of its effects, on the character of the free whites; a whig 
administration ventured upon the experhnent of the fugitive slave 
law. This at once aroused the people of the free states, to resist the 
encroachments of the general government, on the liberties of the 
people, and the rights of the States. But before the party s'lackle.-* 
could be thrown olF, the attempt to fiiially overturn all tiie barriers of 
liberty, was niade by the Democratic party, in the passage of the Kan- 
sas Nebraska Bill. This has completed the work which the fugitive 
law commenced, and fully aroused the people to a sense of their 
danger. And now there can be but two issues: Slavery will be 
abolished, or the liberties of the people, and the rights of the States 
will be extinguished. The struggle is now to be, for the existence ol 
liberty and the Republic, on the one side, and slavery and an aristoc- 
racy, based on color, on the other. 



32 A VISION 

Stanza 23. 
" Tfuntgh teamed by signs.'" 
Altli"-ugh the pro-slavery party might have taken warning hy the 
resistance in the Free States, to the fugitive law; yet, the success of 
the Democratic party in the last Presidential election, deceived them; 
and the rapidity with which Nativi.^m spread, lulled them into secu- 
rity, and they were wholly unprepared for the resistance which they 
liiet'witii in Kansas. They are almost paralyzed by it. The execu- 
tive, is halting between two opinion^, and should he decide to use the 
military force of the union to put down freedom, all hope of recon- 
ciliation will be destroyed. Amidst the horrors of a civil war, slavery 
cannot stand. If the capture of a single slave, in the city of Boston, 
co.stthe government thirty thousand dollars, and the lives of some of 
its minions, with the virtual abolition of the fugitive slave law in Mas- 
sachusetts, what will be the resiilt when the whole people of the free 
states, either raise in physical resistance, or refuse to aid in its act.'? of 
tyranny ? The effect would be, to array the eighteen millions of the 
North, against the seven millions of the South, and these eighteen 
miirons in pos'=ession of all the granaries, from which the support of 
armies is to be drawn, while the seven, are incumbered by three 
million of slaves ready to improve the first opportunity to avenge 
their wrongs and gain their freedom. 

Stanzas 29 to 32, 
It is not necessary to make any long comments on these stanza.-?. 
They may or they may not, present a true picture of coming events. 
Drawing conclusions from the history of the past, we ought to look 
upon African Slavery as doomed to extinction, whatever may may be 
the action of the government, at the present time. Based upon bar- 
barism, it cannot continue to exist, when a nation becomes civilized 
and enlightened. Since the commencement of our government, the 
people of the free States have been moving in the direction of civil- 
ization and enlightenment, and the abhorrence of slavery has kept 
pace with their advancement, and the institution now stands on the 
most precarious foundation possible ; having nothing for its support 
but a few dishonest demagogues, and the want of information in rela- 



OF JUDGMENT. 33 

tion to it, in the honest laboring classes, who, form the entire support 
of the government. The first of these supporters, are ready to desert 
this, or any other cause, whenever their interest prompts them to do 
so; and the second will soon be annihilated, by the agitation of the 
question. That agitation is now in full motion, nor is there any 
powerlon earth capable of arresting it. It is seldom that a people 
retrograde, and when they do, they soon become extinct. When tJie 
Roman Catholic Church was at the very zenith of its power, and all 
the governments of Europe bowed in humble submission to its man 
dates, and Princes trembled at the mere mention of the Pope's bull: 
when all the armies of Europe were at its disposal, when a single 
word of the Pope could reduce the most powerful Emperors, to the 
^ condition of private paupers and beggars, and stop the consumma- 
tion of marriage, and the burial of the dead throughout the length 
and breadth of the most powerful empires; there in the midst of all 
this power, an obscure monk ventured to oppose her, and put in 
motion a principle, which, in einte of all her efforts, has shorn her of 
all bar power, and enabled a poor Corsican boy, to compel her proud 
and haughty Pope to lake a journey from Rome to Paris, to officiate 
in raising him to the imperial dignity. How then do you expect to 
sustain the institution of Slavery, with all the civilized world in oppo- 
sition to you? Like a poor brute in a quag, every effort but serves 
to sink deejier in the mire. The passage of the fugitive bill, has 
advanced the opposition fifty years ahead of what they would have 
been, and the Kansas Nebraska Bill, seems likely to finish the job. 
The conduct of the friends of slavery, would seem destined to dem- 
' onstrate the truth of the old adage, that ' whom the gods determine 
j to destroy, they first make mad.' As to the slave, you are not safe in 
trusting to his apparent ignorance and content. It is a merciful pro- 
vision of the Divine Government, that the human mind as well as the 
; body, ceases to feel, after a time, the torments inflicted upon it, and 
[becomes accustomed, to a condition which at first, it deemed itself 
'wholly unable to bear. But this occurs only when the mind has 
•ceased to act, in so great a degree, as to appear to be incapable of 
appreciating its condition. Slavery, of all causes, seems to be the 
best calculated to produce this condition, and in the eye of a super- 
ficial observer, the mind of the Slave appears to be utterly destroyed, 
I his mentality to be only on a par with that of the domesticated 



34 A VISION 

animals. But if we observe more closely, we shall find that in this 
we have been too hasty in our conclusions, and that the mind of 
the slave is capable of being aroused, to a full sense of his condition, 
and that he can fully appreciate it. As evidence of this, we need 
only refer to the Slave Mother in Cincinnati. In this case, the mind 
of a Slave who was supposed to have lost all sense of her condition, 
and to have become contented, and even happy, in her lot, was sud- 
denly aroused to as full a sense of the evil, as can be supposed to 
animate the mind of any white woman in Christendom, and whose 
conduct has just called forth the sympatheis of the brightest orna- 
ments of American womanhood. 



OF JUDGMENT. 35 

ALLEGORICAL MEANING OF WORDS. 



Note of definitions to Stanza 9. 

1. Sun — The light of civilization. 

2. Pale — Dread of pro-slavery success. 

3. Black — Success of pro-slavery principles in the Free State 
Elections. 

4. Moon — The pro-slavery Church. 

5. Trumpet — Stump speeches. 

6. Heavens — State Sovereignty. 

7. Earth — The liberties of the people. 

8. Pole-T-Poll — From election to election; Presidential. 

9. Lightning and thunder — Political excitement during the 
Elections. 

Stanza 10. 

1. First four lines inauguration of the President. 

2. Arch-Angel's Trump, President's Message. 

3. Earthquake, Political Excitement. 

4. Living and Dead, Both political parties. 

5. Sleeping Dead, Meeting of Congress, 

6. Hell &C-, The pro-slavery majority. 



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